Heating and air conditioning systems are usually designed to be recharged with refrigerant at a certain given pressure. The refrigerant usually comes in a cylinder under pressure. The pressure for recharging an air conditioning system is usually the pressure of the gas when the outside temperature of the cylinder is around 70 degrees. Of course, these cylinders are made out of metal and thus, the inside gas and liquid are at the temperature of the outside air. When the temperature drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, the pressure within the cylinder also drops. The inventor has found that in the art there is no effective way of heating the cylinder. Most individuals in the field usually heat their cylinders by approximately two different methods.
The first method is by placing the cylinder in a tub of hot water. The problems with this method is that you must get a tub of hot water to heat the cylinder. On a reasonably cold day if you are working outside you may need a few tubs of hot water before you can get the cylinder up to the working temperature. This method also takes a reasonably long time to bring the cylinder up to temperature. A much faster, however, far more dangerous method is to heat the cylinder with a blow torch. The big problem with this is if overheat the cylinder will explode. Thus, one of the objectives of this invention is to heat the cylinder quickly and thus save time on the job. The second objective of this invention is to heat the cylinder safely. Applicant's invention will heat the cylinder, not only quickly, but also safely and will shut off the heat when the cylinder reaches the proper temperature. Another objective of the invention is to make it easy to operate and easy to store within the individual's van or truck when he is going out or coming home from repressurizing a heating and air conditioning system. Another objective is to make the system inexpensive to produce and manufacture. The features that achieve these goals is that the applicant has created a heating blanket that wraps around the cylinder and heats the cylinder to the specific temperature. Applicant controls this temperature by using a pressure valve and when the refrigerant reaches the proper temperature, the heat system is shut off. Thus, the system not only quickly heats the refrigerant cylinder but also safely heats the cylinder.